Ukraine is getting ready this week to defend its fundamental interests, as U.S. President Donald Trump is scheduled to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday. The meeting has caused a lot of anxiety in Kyiv, as they fear that Trump will give in to Putin and compromise Ukrainian sovereignty.
On Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, accompanied by some of his strongest European allies, will have a meeting with Trump. He is going to talk about the limits that should be set before sitting down at the negotiating table. Kyiv authorities are of the opinion that Trump will seek to drive such a deal through with Moscow and give away captured land as a result of such negotiations.
The list of Ukraine’s demands includes, among other things, the complete withdrawal of Russian forces from territories occupied illegally, the return of over 20,000 forcibly taken children, and the release of prisoners of war. Kyiv is also asking Moscow to cover the cost of the war damage, which is in the range of hundreds of billions of dollars.
European allies are on board with Ukraine’s position and have warned that a retreat at this stage would give the aggressors a green light and would have a negative impact on international law. There is a high probability of confrontation between them, especially regarding the future of the annexed territories and how reparations would be enforced.
Touching base before the summit is a conveyance of overall nervousness in Kyiv and all throughout Europe that a U.S.-mediated deal would grant more prominence to Washington’s desire to lessen its involvement in the war at the cost of Ukrainian security. For President Zelenskyy, the only guarantee that might avert the “nightmare scenario” is obtaining the irrevocable commitments of the allies before Trump’s meeting with Putin.
